Out of site, out of mind?

• 
• 15th May 2007
• Materials Handling
 

When contractors hear the words concrete recycling, their immediate reaction may very well be "I'm a builder, not a waste management contractor, it's not my problem - I just get it off the site and out of the way". Until now, they'd probably get away with that approach. However, things are about to change massively and permanently - no one will be able to hide for long - and the days of chucking rubble into skips, getting it carted away by grab lorries, and (especially) tipping it into a hole in a local, friendly farmers field are numbered.

Understanding why is quite simple. An article in the Financial Times in July last year highlighted the bare facts about the enormous changes due to take place in UK landfill and recycling. The UK tips more biodegradable household waste into landfill than most other European countries, despite having increased recycling from 11% to 23% since 2000.

The key figures though, related to EU fines payable by the UK government, which have begun to be passed down to local councils, to the tune of £40m per year for those who fail to hit landfill reduction targets by 2010. These fines will increase drastically to £205m per in 2013, as tougher targets are introduced.

A cornerstone of the new approach to waste management is the Proximity Principle which states that "waste should be managed as close as practicable to the point at which it is generated". Put simply, this means if you can recycle on site, then you must - no arguments.

The Proximity Principle is also reinforced by waste transfer legislation which means that, strictly speaking, if you move waste concrete and brick from your own site - even if you take it back to your own base to recycle it - you should have a waste transfer licence. You can bet these licences will become harder to come by and will be more strictly regulated and policed.

Many local authorities are already using these rules as a convenient means of clamping down on the problems they have with grab loaders and skip lorries, particularly on small domestic sites. The combined issues of noise, congestion, and damage to roads and pavements have provided and additional spur to the implementation of new on-site recycling regulations. In some cases the planning consent for domestic buildings and extensions is conditional upon approved methods of recycling arising building waste, particularly brick stone and concrete.

DEFRA is currently in consultation with the UK construction industry and is aiming to implement new legislation to audit and control building sites. The controls will encourage both on-site recycling and also a reduction in scrap of new materials delivered to site.

The goods new is that British manufacturer DIGBITS has been at the forefront of compact concrete and rubble recycling, since the introduction of it's BAV product range in 1999 and anticipated the current growth in this sector. Now, with both excavator mounted BAV Alligator Crushers for machines from 0.5 tonne micro diggers, right up to full sized 28 tonne machines, larger structures can be demolished, reinforcing wires cut, and the concrete reduced to a size for re-use or feeding through a static crushing plant. They also have a range of micro sized BAVTRAK tracked crushers -ideal for even the smallest of sites - which can produce variable grades of re-useable hardcore from site rubble. A new 2.5 tonne BAVTRAK is due for launch this year.

DIGBITS Limited
tel: 01889 50302